Sydney Jonah was born in China, and moved
to the United States in the 1930s. In 1935, he married Ruth (Rudy) Cohen in Los Angeles,
California. The collection consists mainly of personal photographs belonging to both the
Jonah and Cohen families, which show some of Sydney’s time in China, their life and
travels together as a married couple, and family photos sent to and collected by Sydney
and Ruth. Also included in the collection is a small amount of personal correspondence
and collected papers, most notably letters between Sydney and his family regarding a
relative living in Shanghai during the 1940s.

Background

Sydney Jonah was born in China in 1910, to Ephraim and Gertrude Jonah. He attended the
Public and Thomas Hanbury School for Boys in Shanghai, and immigrated to the United
States, settling in San Francisco in the 1930s. He enlisted in the United States Army in
1942, and became a naturalized US citizen in 1944.

Extent

4.66
linear feet

Restrictions

Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s)
of this collection has not been transferred to California State University,
Northridge. Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or
reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond
that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners.
Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of
the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.